


Our Valley's Love The Summer in His Pride

by balladblood



Category: Peaky Blinders (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Bullying, Explicit Language, F/M, Illegitimacy, Jewish Character, M/M, Racist Language, Slut Shaming, Welsh Character, Welsh Language, tommy has a son from a previous relationship, traveller character, traveller community
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-20
Updated: 2020-03-14
Packaged: 2021-03-12 19:17:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,621
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22820800
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/balladblood/pseuds/balladblood
Summary: SynopsisTommy nearly forgot all about Sarah Maddox. She was just a happy memory that he carried with him throughout the war, from the last summer before his mother died. So, when twelve-year-old Jimmy Maddox turns up at his door accompanied by Bethany Boswell his life changes, maybe for the better.Takes place just before S01E01 (Major events and history of characters happens as in series but transferred to modern-day - WW1 = Iraq war etc)
Relationships: Tommy Shelby/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 12





	1. Chapter One, Part One: A son?

The betting shop happened to be quiet for once that morning, hence why Tommy was alone. Polly was at the church, as usual, Arthur and John at the pub or the docks, and Finn at friends.

Having just poured himself a glass of whiskey, Tommy sighed, annoyed, as someone hammered the front door. Planning to ignore it knowing the gamblers would come back tomorrow, he walked the opposite direction towards his office with his drink. Only to stop as the door was hammered upon again with more force.

Losing his temper, Tommy stormed back through the open office towards the front door. Throwing the door open, Tommy stopped in surprise, his anger cooled with confusion as he came face to face with Bethany Boswell.

“Tommy, she stated with a nod to the outwardly stoic man, “long time, we have something to discuss.” Bethany lightly pushed Tommy out of the doorway and walked past him into the house, knowingly showing the little boy hiding behind her.

Tommy stared at the little boy as the boy stared back, he was cute as far as kids went, cuter than John’s kids who proved themselves little demons before they could walk. The kid had curly afro hair and dark skin, there was only one thing about the boy’s appearance that made Tommy frown, and that was his blue eyes, his Shelby blue eyes.

After the stare down, the child quickly smiled at Tommy and followed Bethany into the kitchen on the family side of the two houses, where she busied herself making tea.

“The rest of the family here?” she asked as she placed a cup in front of Tommy and the child, as he sat facing the boy at the dinner table. “No…so, I’m guessing the boy is a Shelby?” Tommy questioned.

Smiling at the child, Bethany sat down herself before answering, “The Boy, is named James or Jimmy, and yes he is a Shelby, your child in fact.” she smirked at Tommy. He outwardly seemed nonplussed, but he ran his eyes over Jimmy as the child hummed and kicked his legs in delight as he drunk his tea, and couldn’t help but be reminded of Ada as a child, and a memory of a beautiful girl in a welsh meadow from back when he was seventeen.

“Sarah Maddock?” he questioned. Little Jimmy looked up from his tea with a familiar frown at his mother’s name with unwanted tears in his eyes. Bethany was quick to soothe him by smiling softly and stroking his cheek. “Sarah has decided that Jimmy is safer without her at the moment, so here we are.” Tommy stared at the woman nicknamed the ‘wise gipsy’ amongst her own people, knowing that there was so much more to the story than that. 

“Safer?” he questioned. To both his and Bethany’s surprise it was Jimmy who answered Tommy, as the child had not said a word the entire time he was here. “Mams husband doesn’t like me.” was practically whispered.

Tommy shared a hard-long-look with Bethany at Jimmy’s claim, making sure that she understood that they would be talking about this before she left in private. Turning to Jimmy and smiling at the small child, he questioned. “Yeah? How do you know that?” 

Instead of answering Jimmy just stared at his father while sipping his tea, Tommy just stared back patiently. Coming to some sort of decision, Jimmy smiled at Tommy, “Because he told me.” he stated.

“Well, that wasn’t very nice of him,” was Tommy’s response.

Jimmy seemed to find this funny, “It wasn’t,” he giggled, only to quickly sober up and turn to Bethany and ask with a serious tone, “Aunt Bethany? am I staying here now?” 

Bethany shared another long look with Tommy before replying, “ Well, that is up to your father?” 

Finding himself under scrutiny again, this time with two pairs of eyes on him. Tommy thought about the question seriously before answering, because although he would never admit it to Bethany or his family, knowing that he was his son meant that little Jimmy’s scrutiny worried him more.

“You are welcome here, with me, for as long as you want,” he swore to the young child.

“Great, can I have some more tea please?” Jimmy replied smiling at them both.

Bethany laughed at the flippant reply pouring them all more tea, even Tommy’s cup was refilled to his chagrin. Before she left to collect all of Jimmy’s things from the car parked outside.

The boy drunk his tea in little sips, his blue eyes roaming the kitchen taking everything in before landing back on Tommy, who was watching him with a small smile as he hummed and kicked his legs.

“I’m twelve, and I like drawing and animals, do you have any animals? Mam said you liked horses?”

Amused, Tommy told the little boy who reminded him of his younger siblings about the horses he owns, and that maybe now that Jimmy is here, Tommy could visit them a lot more often with him.

That afternoon, long after Bethany had left, Tommy’s siblings and Aunt returned to find a strange sight. Not only was Tommy sitting on the settee in the living room with the fire blazing, but there was no alcohol in sight. Most surprising of all to the Shelby’s was the small child sleeping beside their brother and nephew, with his head in Tommy’s lap.

“Tommy...?” Polly questioned quietly stepping further into the room while Arthur and Ada looked on from the doorway. 

Tommy turned away from the fire to glance at his Aunt, continuing to stroke Jimmy’s head as he slept. “We had a visit from Bethany Boswell while you were out.” He stated before gazing at his siblings in the doorway.

Polly walked closer to gaze down at the little boy, “Seems she had a package to deliver,” she mused softly. 

Smirking Tommy lifted his glass to her, “Yes, a son.”

“A son!” Arthur shouted in excitement from the doorway, running over to look down at the young boy too. Jimmy shifted in his sleep blinking his eyes at the man and woman standing over him.


	2. Chapter One, Part Two: A nosy bartender?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jimmy has now been living with the Shelby's for about two months and takes place at the beginning half of episode one

As someone who was used to change, Jimmy settled in with the Shelby’s quickly. Generally staying with Tommy unless his father had meetings, or Jimmy himself had school.

Tommy had quickly arranged for his son to start at the same school as Finn. Jimmy had overheard him saying to Polly that, “it would be a shame for him to waste his intelligence.” Which Jimmy privately thought was hypocritical since Aunt Polly had already bemoaned numerous times during the short time, that Jimmy lived here, that Tommy left school as soon as he could despite his so-called intelligence

Jimmy just was glad that Finn was only a year older than him, they had quickly become close.

Due to Jimmy always being around Tommy, and Finn being always around Jimmy, Arthur had started teasingly calling them Tommy’s shadows. Arthur doted on his nephew when sober, and in the process let himself become closer to his youngest brother.

Tonight, Tommy allowed his son to join him at the local pub, The Garrison. Getting comfortable in the Shelby private booth, after Tommy ordered their drinks, Jimmy began catching Tommy up on what was happening at school.

It was no more than ten minutes later that the new bartender arrived with their drinks. Watching as the girl flirted with Tommy, Jimmy frowned as she started asking questions about the Shelby family and their businesses. She also ignored the quiet child thinking him inconsequential.

Tommy was, of course, no idiot, and Jimmy didn’t think he was taking in by the curious blonde but vowed to keep an eye on the situation regardless.

Watching her critically as she left the booth, Jimmy smiled up at Tommy as he started laughing at the glare Jimmy gave her as she left, “she was curious wasn’t she?” He teased his son, jimmy frowned replying, “a bit too curious.”

Tommy hummed in agreement moving to hug his son around the shoulders, “but you’ll protect me right champ?”

Snorting at the nickname that his uncle Arthur gave him, after Jimmy knocked out a kid at school for picking on Finn. Tommy was even thinking about having Arthur train the two boys in boxing, at least enough to protect themselves.

Returning a grin, in reply to his father’s joke, he continued to tell him about his day while drinking his coke. Tommy listened intently as his son told him about his maths and art classes, that were the ‘best, ever’, apparently. Before they were disturbed again, this time by Arthur and John who were both in high spirits.

Arthur being in a good mood meant picking up his small nephew and swinging him around in a circle, nearly knocking the drinks over, but making Jimmy giggle. Considering how tiny Jimmy’s mother is, Tommy was glad that Jimmy had some of his height because he could have been a lot smaller for his age.

“How come you don’t greet my kids like that.” John jokingly questioned as he carefully moved around the two, who were too busy laughing and hugging to get out of the way, to go and sit down.

Arthur was quick to answer back, “your kids bite.” The statement caused John to look at the others in shock before bursting into laughter.

Polly and Ada walked into the booth to find Arthur and John in the middle of a laughing fit, with Tommy smiling, amused, at his brothers with an arm around Jimmy who was sitting cross-legged giggling at his uncles. The two Shelby women smirked at each other at the silliness of the Shelby males.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am at the end of my PGCE course so haven't had a lot of time to write with placement and deadlines. So please excuse the small upload for chapter one part two.
> 
> Give me another two months and I will have the freedom to write a lot more.
> 
> I might join part one and part two together to make a whole chapter one later on while editing.

**Author's Note:**

> I believe children are agents of chaos, especially in fiction, hence why I write child OC's into already existing plots.


End file.
